Prince's party an 'awesome' event

It's not every day you get to meet a prince, let alone spend your birthday with one, but Charles Chittenden did just that.

The Napier teenager got to celebrate his 18th birthday with namesake Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall at Government House in Wellington on Wednesday.

New Zealanders whose birthday's landed on November 14, the same date as the Prince of Wales', were invited to apply for an invitation to attend the birthday party as part of the royal couple's Diamond Jubilee visit.

Much to his surprise Charles was one of 64 people accepted from more than 1500 applications.

"It was really awesome actually," he said of the event. "We met John Key which was a bit of a surprise. It was really Kiwi as well, there were whitebait fritters and paua as well - that was good, it was so nice."

He also got to chat to the Prince himself, who he said "liked to joke around a bit".

"We had a good chat, just about how I went out with my mates that day and had a couple of pints at the pub, and [I] just asked him if the trip was going well and if his day was good."

This prompted a 'good on you' response from the Prince, he said. "I was correct, he was really nice and he sort of liked to joke around a bit, everyone was being serious and I was the only one relaxed."